The glow of the monitor was the only thing illuminating Ren Kade's apartment. On the screen, the title menu of Aurelion Academy: Descent of the Stars flickered in a deep, blood-red hue. It was a notoriously difficult survival RPG, famous for its unforgiving permadeath mechanics and a plot that delighted in killing off its cast.
Ren hovered his cursor over the start button. He had spent hundreds of hours mastering the mechanics, but he had never tried the latest "Insanity" patch. With a tired sigh and a click, he initiated the game.
The screen did not fade to a loading bar. Instead, the blue light from the monitor intensified, expanding until it swallowed the desk, the walls, and Ren himself. The hum of his PC transformed into a deafening roar of static. His vision blurred, and the sensation of his chair beneath him vanished, replaced by a weightless, sickening drop into an abyss.
When Ren's eyes finally snapped open, the scent of expensive sandalwood and aged parchment filled his lungs. He wasn't in his cramped apartment. He was lying on a canopy bed draped in heavy violet silks.
He bolted upright, his heart hammering against his ribs. This wasn't his room. The furniture was ornate, carved from dark woods and inlaid with silver. Large windows overlooked a sprawling courtyard of white stone and manicured gardens that looked exactly like the opening cinematic of the Aurelion Academy.
Ren stumbled toward a tall, silver-framed mirror in the corner. He didn't see his own reflection. Instead, a pale teenager with sharp, aristocratic features and cold, piercing eyes stared back. His hair was Golden Blonde, Slicked Back Neatly.
"Cyprian Gaunt," Ren whispered, his voice trembling.
He knew this character. Cyprian was a third-tier villain, a minor noble with a genius intellect but a rotten personality. In the game's first major event, the "Blood Moon Rite," a fellow student would succumb to demonic corruption. Cyprian's role was to be the arrogant coward who blocked the hallway to protect his own luggage, inadvertently trapping dozens of students who were then slaughtered by the half-demon. Shortly after, the protagonist would arrive and execute Cyprian for his interference.
"I'm dead," Ren muttered, clutching the edge of the vanity. "If I follow the script, I'm dead."
He needed to move. He needed resources, a weapon, or at least a way to change the outcome of the rite. He paced the room, his mind racing through the game's hidden mechanics.
Suddenly, a sharp ping resonated in his mind. A translucent blue window flickered into existence right in front of his face.
Ren let out a strangled yelp and jumped backward, tripping over his own silk-covered feet and landing hard on the mattress. "What the hell was that?"
He stared at the floating interface. It stayed locked in his field of vision, moving as he moved. It was the Aurelion Survival System.
Character Profile
Name: Cyprian Gaunt (Ren Kade)
Age: 16
Class: 3rd-Tier Villain / Minor Antagonist
Title: None
Attributes
Combat: 5
Magic Power: 2
Crafting: 3
Intelligence: 18
Luck: 1
Ren stared at the numbers in silent horror. In a world where the average academy student started with double digits in their primary stats, he was essentially a walking corpse. His magic power was a pathetic 2, barely enough to light a candle, and his combat skill was lower than a common town guard. Only his intelligence held any promise, but in the upcoming massacre, brains wouldn't stop a demon's claws.
He looked at the empty quest log and the ticking clock in the corner of the UI. The Blood Moon Rite was approaching. He was weak, hated by his peers, and destined to be a stepping stone for the hero.
Ren gripped the bedsheets until his knuckles turned white. He wasn't going to be fodder.